After working his way through law school as a news reporter and editor, Bill Deverell was a criminal lawyer in Vancouver before publishing the first of his 16 novels: "Needles", which won the $50,000 Seal Award. "Trial of Passion" won the 1997 Dashiell Hammett award for literary excellence in crime writing in North America, as well as the Arthur Ellis prize in crime writing in Canada. "April Fool" was also an Ellis winner, and his recent two novels, "Kill All the Judges" and :Snow Job" were shortlisted for the Stephen Leacock Prize in Humour. His two latest Arthur Beauchamp courtroom dramas, "I'll See You in My Dreams", and "Sing a Worried Song" were released in 2011 and 2013 respectively. His novels have been translated into fourteen languages and sold worldwide.

He created CBC's long-running TV series "Street Legal", which has run internationally in more than 80 countries. He was Visiting Professor of Creative Writing University of Victoria, and twice served as Chair of the Writers' Union of Canada. He is a founder and honourary director of the BC Civil Liberties Association and is a Green activist. He has been awarded two honourary doctorates in letters, from Simon Fraser University and the University of Saskatchewan.

He lives on Pender Island, British Columbia.